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A couple of days ago, I was discussing tv sitcoms with a friend and she said something which I totally disagreed with.

"No matter what you say Roshan, the fact is that there hasn't been a comedy sitcom half as good as FRIENDS in the last decade."

Apparently, it was a popular opinion online as well. But I'm not quite as convinced as you all.

You realise that it is nearly 19 years since Ross, Rachel and company first appeared on television ? Granted it was an iconic show and had tremendous ratings, but have there really been no other comedy shows that you felt deserved as much applause ( if not more ) as FRIENDS ?

For the consideration of all those who feel that FRIENDS is the beginning and end of all Tv sitcoms in the last two decades, I would like to suggest a few ( in no particular order ) that bring a smile to my face even today when I come across them.

One of the earliest comics that I remember seeing in the newspapers alongside Garfield, Peanuts, Hagar the Horrible and Phantom was an innocuous single panel strip called 'Love is'. It always started the same way : The words 'Love is' would be written on the top corner followed by a drawing of a sweet childish couple in the centre and the end of the phrase at the bottom. I'm sure many of you have seen it too.Seems like a one-trick pony, doesn't it ? I mean, how long could you possibly keep 'filling' the phrase 'Love is', right ?Well, a lot more than you can imagine. You see, the 'Love is' strip has in fact been running in print since January 1970. But do you know the love story behind these cartoon strips is just as inspiring as it's sweet words ?

The sooner you accept this, the sooner we can move on with this discussion. There is no point talking about how good we are, compared to certain other neighbours or third world countries. We were supposed to be a nation on the rise. We should have been aiming for the stars, not crawling in the mud as we are presently.If you could choose 5 key flaws in the system and try to correct them so that India would move back towards being a 'nation we are proud of', what would you choose ? These are the five arrows in my quiver.